There will always be that grey area that causes us to glance over our shoulder because of an inherent feeling of anxiety and fear. My disconcerting yarns might move you towards nervous laughter or perhaps force you to give out a muffled scream. I invite you to take a walk with me through the precarious depths of my imagination and experience life as seen through my many Endless Perceptions.
Long, long before I was born and long before there was television or the internet, there was this little invention which was called "the radio." I learned to first appreciate this box which spoke when I was about eight years old. My family had one of these stand up monsters which was actually a combination radio and record player. I don't want to scare the children who might be reading this but a record player played brittle vinyl discs and used very sharp needles. Any further unnerving descriptions of the console, I will save for another day.
My family generally used the console to listen to music and the local news. I, on the other hand, was more interested in a much darker use for this unit. Late at night, there were shows which presented imaginary stories. Some of these were crime dramas or adventure stories but the ones that I stayed up late for involved suspense and the creeping horror. Shows like Inner Sanctum and Lights Out scared me with their eerie sound effects and lead-ins to terror.
I began to appreciate how strong the imagination could be. At times, the sound effects were a little over the top but the mental pictures being painted were never boring. All that was needed to enjoy the drama was a set of ears and an open mind. As the narrator used the power of the suggestion to describe scenes, each utterance was causing my skin to shiver and making me to look over my shoulder more than once. As to not to continue to scare anyone, I will jump to when I was thirteen.
Around this time, I began mailing away for Columbia House Record albums. They did not carry the up to date stuff but they provided me with a lot of enjoyment as I listened to my old favorites like Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Chiffons, not to mention music soundtracks from many great movies. In search of newer music, I came across the comedy albums of Bill Cosby.
I had seen him in the breakthrough television series I Spy but I had no idea that he was also a comedian. After ordering and enjoying his first, second and third albums, I had to run to the record store to get his fourth and most memorable one called Wonderfullness.
The album was recorded in Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, Nevada so the laughter that you hear from the audience cracking up is real.
On the beginning of the second side of this 1966 album, Mr. Cosby did a routine which was called The Chicken Heart. During this, he describes how he loved to sneak and listen to the family radio and how he especially liked the late night scary shows. Sound familiar? His comical 12 minute rendition of an old radio show about an ever-growing monster, had me playing this track again and again.
The actual Chicken Heart does not show up until eight minutes into the act but the entire routine is more than worth listening too.
Thank you, Mr. Cosby for years of talent and comedy and especially for showing me that I wasn't the only crazy kid out there.
